O’Shea Back to Dubai and Hungry for More
Mdmar – Dubai
As 12-time UAE Champion Jockey, there are few who look forward to a season in the sun more than Tadhg O’Shea.
He also knows better than most the importance of recharging over the summer break, although horses are never far away from the cheerful Irishman.
“It was probably the first summer that I turned down the opportunity to race ride,” he says, having now returned to Dubai ahead of his 25th season in the Emirates.
“I kept busy through the summer riding out for my brother-in-law while also helping on the farm. We have some mares and youngstock to keep me busy and I actually love the breeding side of it.
“It was lovely to recharge and reset. Our two sons are growing up fast so it was fantastic to spend a lot of time with them. Throughout the season it’s all go and you don’t get to spend much time with them.”
O’Shea will once again be based with Champion Trainer Bhupat Seemar, for whom he rode the bulk of his 46 winners last season. That tally saw him finish second in the Championship behind Silvestre de Sousa.
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“My plans are pretty much the same as last season,” says the 44-year-old. “I’m Stable Jockey to Bhupat at Zabeel Stables, which is fantastic. I don’t have any commitments or contracts for the Arabians this season so will be available to everyone who wants me.”
Jockeys based in the UK will tell you not to ask them about potential Championship battles until August. O’Shea has a similar mantra, albeit his deadline falls much earlier in the year.
“People don’t believe me when I say I don’t evaluate the Championship till about mid-February as you just hope everything goes well,” he says. “If I’m in front or within striking distance at that point of the season it will be on my mind morning noon and night.
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“The aim every season is try to stay healthy, fit and ride as many winners as I can for the people who employ me.”
As is the case each year, O’Shea is among the first jockeys to arrive back in the UAE after the summer. It’s a time to get to know the horses he will be riding, some new and some established stars.
“I’m getting acquainted again with all the horses,” he says. “It’s exciting to see how the previous season’s top performers have improved again. Killer Collect is always a horse I’ve rated. He didn’t run a lot last season but he was good and tough in winning the Jebel Ali Stakes. He’s still lightly raced and I wouldn’t rule him out for the big dirt races at Meydan this season.”
O’Shea is also looking forward to being reunited with the great Tuz, 2024 G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner. The nine-year-old raced just twice last season, latterly finishing fourth in the Shaheen behind Dark Saffron.
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“Tuz is a superstar,” says his rider. “He looks amazing, as strong as a bull, and it’s always a privilege to get the leg up. Soon he will turn 10 but is training like a two-year-old and he’s got a fantastic will to win.”
O’Shea will be front and centre when the Dubai Racing Carnival begins on 6 November, and he can’t wait.
“Meydan is a place I would urge anyone in the horse industry to visit,” he says. “It truly is a magical place which you really have to see to believe. The crowd, the atmosphere, the racing – it’s all top class.”
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The “Mdmar” website which was Founded by Khaled Makhlouf in 2007 for horse and equestrian races is keen to cover and follow all competitions related to horses, from show jumping, Horseracing, speed and endurance races, and purebred Arabian horse beauty shows, which belong to the Arab Gulf countries at home and abroad in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
